OFFSTAGE: The Skinny on LeAnn Rimes

(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that’s happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)

How skinny is too skinny? The question was raised this week when photos of LeAnn Rimes started popping up everywhere on the Internet. But the only one who knows that answer to that question is Rimes herself. And I think the answer is something along the lines of, “None of your damn business.” She has not come out and said as much, but she has started defending herself on Twitter
, saying things like. “I know how healthy I am. Maybe those people should start taking care of themselves … inside and out.” And, “I take care of myself, eat what I want without putting crap into my body and am at a healthy weight.” The bottom line is that skinny is all very relative. Rimes does indeed look thinner now than she did a year ago, but maybe a year ago she had trouble zipping her jeans and was determined to drop the extra weight. Every girl I know has a bikini weight. That is, the weight you have to be before you’d put on a bikini. I think Rimes is at hers. And as for the haters, she claims she is over it because she knows she’s healthy — and that’s all that matters. But the best tweet is one of the earliest ones, complete with a #joke hashtag, that said, “Maybe it’s time for a nude pic so peeps can see how I look nowhere near what these stupid pics are trying to make me look like, LOL.”